Life is amazing

So much has happened in the last few months. I can say that I have spent most of my time simply enjoying my wonderful life and trying to appreciate the beautiful people and things in my life. There are weekly ups and downs that make almost overwhelm me sometimes but then I just look around at my amazing son and great husband and cozy home and my family and friends-then I realize hwo truly lucky and blessed I am.

Leah & mike's triplets have been born!!! It is truly incredible. The babies are all doing really well and so is Leah. they cam quite early but were already 3lbs and breathing due to the drugs given in utero. Leah was basically in labor since Dec 23rd and she was onlots of drugs tgo keep the contractions down then she dveloped gestational diabetes and had to start taking insulin on top of everything else. The babies's birth was held off until jan 31st when one of their water's broke! then it was go time and they did the c-section and they all came out quickly and were strong enough to cry!! I have seen the babies but not held them yet. they will ahve to be in the hospital for a few weeks but they really are doing very very well. It is hard to believe they are really heer. after all of our worry and anxiety and concern and HOPE. Leah made it!! I am so incredibly proud of her I could burst. She will just lvoe being a mom. She has wanted ti for so long and now she is finally a real mom. I am so happy for her.

Finley makes me SOOOOO happy everyday. My heart melts and burts with love for him. I just heard him giggling to himself in his bedroom. Hi is so joyful and makes me happy all the time. I hate to say it but right now I am letting him sit in his bedroom watching a movie. It is the evening after a long day at work and school (Fin). And Fin is in his room watching the movie CARS! Before we were parents of a toddler, I would have never believed this or thought that we would allow movie watching in his room but sometimes in life you just ahve to go with the flow.

CARS CARS CARS ugh. CARS is Finley's favorite movie in fact it is an obsession that he has right now. Bill & I are actually very concerned but we feel sort of helpless and we don't knwo what to do about it. Since sometime in November Finley has loved this movie. He wants to watch it multiple times a day. he asks for it the moment he wakes up (I am not kidding) and right when we get home from school and I am getting him out of his cvarseat and he says "CARS" with a questioning, hopeful look on his little face. it is so damn cute but seriously disturnign for us.

the word "cars" was actually Finley's first word that was not mom, dad, or kaia. and now he just loves this movie so much. oh well.

other than "cars" Fin is saying lots of words and signing more too. he is saying tree, cat, dog, shu shu (=our cat sugar), up, ga gone (= all gone), fish, outside, what's that, choo choo, ball, book, apple ("pul") and banana ("bana"), ca (cracker, cookie), juice, ma (milk), no, birds ("ba"), puz ("please"), georgia ("gaga"), thank you ("da du"), shoe, cheese, mine, eye, more, hi, bye bye, go, kaia, dady, mommy (mum, mam, MAAAA!) and so many other things we really can't interpret. he signs milk, eat dinner, juice, and bedtime, and change (diaper), and wash, more, happy, airplane, and so much more.

he is really amazing right now. His personality is coming out so strong and wonderfully. he goes to bed so well still. He just lets us know when he is ready to go look at his birds! which means he wants to go lay in his crib and look at his blue bird lights. these are blue LED lights that are really quite bright but he loves them so much that we don't have the heart to take them away. he seem sot sleep just fine with them on so we have decided not to worry. I still nurse Finley a little bit at night and in the morning. so before I put him in his crib, I usually give him alittle milk but he never wants much unless he is not feeling well.

There is so much mroe to say about Fin's new tricks and his development, I could go on and on. but a few things are he dances ALL the time and is incredibly musical,. he does a very cite galloping, stomping, jumping dance and then wehn he hears clasical music he does cute little turns and waves his arms gently. he is even tryign to sing. he loves clapping too and seems to knwo the right moments to do it.

he has a cute little toothbrush now and toddler toothpaste and he is very INTO brushing the teeth at night. he now has 5 teeth (3 on top) 2 on bottom.

he is eating very well still. a little more picky thasn before but he is reall quite diverse fo a toddler. all pasta and cheese and tomato sauce and quesadilla's and risotto are favs. he loves peas and if you put cheese on green beans then he likes that too. still loves sweet potatoes and will do carrots if I out a little brown sugar on it. his new thing is jelly and butter sandwiches (mini ones, and still no peanut butter until he is older) that he take BITES from (he doens not liek me to cut it up-he wants to do BITES by himself! he also uses spoons and forks very well and is almost doing well with a plate and bowls instead of his messy mat we used before.

he mostly drinks water and some juice. he really hates cow milk and pretty much won't drink it unless he has too (he'll do about 4 oz at school during the day). at first I was worried but then I realized that he is getting plenty of nutrients from the breastmilk he still gets in the evening and morning.

he loves to hug our kitty sugar and wishes he could go outside to play but this has been a very soggy, snowy winter so it has been difficult to get outside as much as we would like. So instead we go to the gym where they have a children's center that he goes to and plays on the jumping mats and giant stacking blacks and climbing toys. he loves this and is very adventurous and dare-devil. of cours,e I am not surprised that he is a risk taker kid. This gym we have a membership at is really great. I am loving the pool and the hot tubs and sauna. I am goiing to try to start taking some yoga or spinning classes there but the times of the classes are always crappy for me. I miss going to my old yoga school in ann arbor but we can't afford both the gym and the yoga school.

the end of january and these 1st few days of february have been very gloomy and gray. I ahve been doing everything I can to stay happy and cheerful but it is hard. I bought fresh flowers for the hosue and drink lots of wine and eat chocolate and go to the gym and try to see friends and take kaia to the dog park. these are the things that help pass the gray days and give me hope knowing that spring is not far away now.

this saturday we took Fin to see Gemini, the children's musicians who played a kids charity show at the Corner brewery. it was so cute to see all the kids running around and dancing and stealing eachother's treats. hillarious and joyful. it was nice to have abeer with friends too while the kids played around us. we need to do that kidn fo thing mroe often.

Bill si playing soccer again-he had stopped last session b/c he hurt his back but now he is goalie on a team so that is a little less strenuous. i encourage him to get out and play b/c he is still workig from home office so I think it is necessary that he get out and soclaize a bit.